1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gardening or landscaping borders.
2. Prior Art
Gardens are often planted next to lawns with clear demarcation lines between the soil in the gardens and the grass on the lawns. Therefore, there is a need to prevent garden soil from spilling onto the grass area, and a need to prevent grass from growing in the garden areas. A common way of separating those areas is with a border. A conventional border is comprised of a long rectangular sheet of flexible plastic or rubber. It is typically rolled up tightly for compact shipping and storage. It is pounded edgewise into the soil along a straight or curving path until it is partially buried. The above ground portion is thus arranged to function as a barrier between two distinct horticultural areas. It can also be used for encircling areas which are covered with redwood chips by connecting additional sheets into a continuous loop.
A border should be inserted just the right depth into the ground for enough support, but still project high enough above ground to be an effective barrier. In practice, it is difficult to insert the border at exactly the same depth along its entire length. Borders are thus frequently installed with high and low sections, which make them less effective and less attractive. Another problem with installing the border is the difficulty in fine tuning the position of the border before inserting it fully into the ground. Being just a flat sheet, the border cannot stand up on the ground for judging its position without inserting it substantially into the ground. Also, it has a straight lower edge that cannot be used to easily mark its position on the ground. After they are installed, they are sometimes caused to rise up by ground pressure. They also tend to come loose when knocked about by people or gardening equipment.
Many variations to the basic rectangular sheet border are known in the prior art. A border disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,184,904 to Boehme is comprised of a sheet formed into a cylinder. A flange is arranged around the outside of the cylinder to limit the insertion depth. However, the flange and the cylinder must be assembled by the user. If the flange is provided as an integral or otherwise permanently attached part, the border cannot be rolled up tightly for compact shipping.
Another border disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,526 to Langley is comprised of a cylinder formed by joining the ends of a sheet with a connector. The bottom edge of the sheet is provided with a row of teeth for facilitating insertion into the ground. The teeth are shallow and all of the same size. If the border is uncurled and used as a straight border, the teeth are too shallow to dig into the ground for temporary positioning when trying different paths. The connector is comprised of a T-shaped male key at one end of the sheet and a T-shaped female slot at the other end. Gardening borders are frequently cut to different lengths to suit the application, but if the border of Langley is cut, one of the connectors will be cut off and the ends cannot be connected together anymore.
Accordingly, the objectives of the present gardening barrier are: to separate two distinct horticultural areas; to be connectable in different configurations for different applications; to be connectable to itself or other barriers even after it is trimmed to a shorter length; to prevent plants or materials in either area from crossing over to the other; to help ensure that it is inserted to the same depth into the ground along its entire length; to be secure in the ground; to be able to stand up temporarily for initial positioning during installation; to be able to mark its position on the ground when judging its placement; and to be able to be rolled up tightly for shipping or storage.
Further objectives of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
The present gardening barrier is comprised of an elongated flexible sheet and a connector at one end of the sheet. The sheet is adapted to be partially buried edgewise into the ground for separating two distinct horticultural areas. Depending on the application, the ends of sheet can be connected together to form a small cylinder or planting berm to collect water, or a plurality of sheets can be connected together to form a long border for separating a garden area from a lawn area. The lower edge of the sheet is provided with a row of teeth for marking the ground during installation. Elongated stakes are provided among the teeth for temporarily holding the sheet upright on the ground while trying different positions. Foldable insertion limitation tabs adjacent the top of the sheet may be folded out to ensure that the sheet is buried at an even depth along its entire length. Foldable retention tabs adjacent the bottom of the sheet may be folded out and buried underground to retain the sheet in the ground. The barrier is shipped with the tabs retracted, and the sheet coiled up in a tight compact roll.